This is so against our religion
by HandOfSorrow
Summary: Side stories for Reverse This Curse. Hidan/OC
1. Modern Confusion

**Title: Modern Confusion****  
Character(s): Hidan, Ai  
Rating: M****  
Setting: Numerous years after all the events in Reverse This Curse**  
**Summary: Ai and Hidan live in a constantly changing world, but Ai is the only one confused by the changes.  
**

**Disclaimer: Hidan does not belong to me**

* * *

"How long are you going to sleep for?" Hidan's voice forced its way into Ai's dreams, "Wake up, damnit!"

Ai groaned and rolled over in the comfortable bed she laid in, cracking her eyes open slightly and looking at the male next to her.

"Fuck you," She mumbled, closing her eyes again, "It's still dark outside…"

"In case you've forgotten, we have to move during the night since you decided to commit a fucking _felony_ in that last village!" Hidan retorted, bouncing on the bed to shake Ai awake. She groaned again.

"Shut _up_," She hissed, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, "That asshole attacked me first. Besides, I didn't kill him. Those Anbu with the bladeless kunai just decided it was 'attempted' murder."

"I think 'Anbu' are called 'Police' now, Ai," Hidan said. Ai shrugged and fixed her riding-up tank top.

"Whatever. I don't keep track of what changes anymore," She said, and gestured to a large square machine on a table across the room, "Like that box thing. That thing eats people, I swear. Makes them dance and entertain whoever watches it."

"It's called a _television_," Hidan said, rubbing his temples.

"I repeat myself," Ai replied, leaning against the beds headboard, "Why did you wake me up again?"

"We need to leave," He stated. Ai frowned and let herself fall over onto his lap.

"But I want to _sleep_!" She said. Hidan pushed her back up into a seated position.

"I want to sleep just as much as you do, but we can't stay in one place too long. You know that."

Ai sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know," She fell against his shoulder and snuggled against him as he gently slid his arm around her. "Do we have to leave _now_, though?"

"Yeah," Hidan said, resting his cheek against the top of Ai's head. "I'll give you a minute to wake up, but if you fall back asleep I'll punch you this time."

"Asshole," Ai chuckled. "I don't need a minute to wake up anyway." She moved away from him and stretched.

"Then why are you always so hard to get out of bed?" Hidan smirked at her. She smirked right back.

"Because if I'm difficult there's the chance that'll you'll _force_ me out of bed," She grinned, "Which never works. You and your testosterone always decide to put the plans aside for an hour. Or two, depending on your moo—"

"You can shut up now," Hidan laughed, cutting off Ai's sentence. "And you always come onto me, remember."

"Like you can blame me," She grinned again and crawled across the bed to him.

"You're right, I can't. No woman can resist _this_—"

"Shut up and kiss me, you vain douchebag."

Ai grabbed Hidan's shirt and forced their lips together, grinning when he didn't refuse.

"Seriously…" Hidan muttered as their lips parted, though Ai quickly shut him up by connecting them again. "Ai…We gotta go…"

"Later," Ai insisted, kissing him again.

"Now," Hidan held her head back as she moved in to connect their lips again. She pouted.

"Fine."

* * *

The two ninja (whether ninja still existed or not didn't matter to them, since they still considered themselves as such) left the Inn, or Hotel as some called it, and proceeded to walk in whatever direction suited them. Though it was night, the village—the city—was light enough that it could seem like day if the sky wasn't visible.

Ai hated it. She preferred traveling during the night more than she did the day, but now there was hardly any difference. It annoyed her.

"I liked it better when ninja were still around…" Ai muttered, moving closer to Hidan.

"I liked it _before_ ninja were around," Hidan replied, "Much more peaceful. No one would notice or freak out when someone didn't return. Made sacrificing so much easier…" Ai frowned, remembering that Hidan had been alive much, _much_ longer than she had. She sighed.

"So, where are we going?" She asked. Hidan shrugged his shoulders.

"To the next Inn, I guess," He said. Ai nodded. She jumped slightly as a large hunk of metal whizzed by her, bright lights shining from the front.

"Fuck!" Ai shouted, jumping onto the sidewalk in surprise. Hidan laughed at her. "Shut up! That thing almost ran me over!"

"It's a car, Ai. They tend to do that if you're in their way," He said, smirking, "You're so stupid."

"Forgive me for not paying attention to this shit…" She muttered, "You've been alive longer than I have, you have experience with how stuff changes. I don't."

"It isn't that hard," Hidan chuckled, "You just have to _pay attention_. Though I'm sure that's a phrase unfamiliar to you."

"Bitch," Ai muttered.

As the lovers were bickering, a messy looking man leapt out in front of them, a hunting knife pointed in their direction.

"Give me all ya money!" He shouted, his English extremely slurred. Ai stopped, as did Hidan, and quirked an eyebrow.

"…Are you talking to us?" She asked, unfazed.

"Damn fuckin' right I'm talkin' to ya!" He shouted, waving the knife.

Ai looked at Hidan. "You know this guy?"

"He's a mugger, Ai," Hidan said, shaking his head.

"A what?"

"One of those low-life fucks who steal money from defenseless people."

"Oh."

"Hey!" The man barked, swinging the knife at Hidan, who backed up, only cutting his shirt a bit. "Do what I fucking say! Give me your fucking money!"

"You annoy me," Ai said, taking a step forward. Hidan stopped her.

"Ai, if you kill this guy and get us wanted in _another_ town, I'll kick your ass," He said.

"I won't kill him," Ai said, making the mugger gain a confused expression. "Just beat his sorry ass into the ground!"

Hidan sighed. "Fine." Ai smirked as the mugger grew annoyed with their conversation and lunged at her, knife raised high.

Ai rolled her eyes and grabbed the mans arm, twisting it, and in turn him, around. She pushed on his back, pulling his arm until it snapped. He screamed.

She kicked him, and he fell to the ground, quickly scrambling up and scurrying away.

"Done and done," Ai said, grinning at Hidan as she picked up the muggers forgotten knife. "Douchebag." Hidan shook his head, chuckling slightly.

"Alright, fine, drop the knife and let's get the hell outta here," He said. Ai nodded and did as he said. The two of them hurried away.

Ai sighed heavily; she **really** didn't like how things had changed.

She stepped closer to the silver-haired man at her side, sliding her arm into his and leaning close. Hidan looked at her.

"What's up with you?" He asked as they stopped walking, not noticing how deserted the area was.

"I hate this city," She muttered, "Things are so…different." Hidan chuckled again.

"You'll get used to it," he said, turning Ai's head so she was looking at him, "Of course, once you do get used to it, it'll probably just change again." Ai frowned slightly, but only for a moment as her lips forced their way into a smile.

"You won't change, though, right?" She asked. Hidan smiled back at her.

"I don't have much of a choice, I can't," He said, but Ai took the response as an 'Of course not'. She leaned up and pressed her lips to his.

She smiled.

At least this would stay the same.


	2. I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much

**Title: I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much  
Character(s): Hidan, Ai  
Rating: T  
Setting: No particular time, post-Reverse This Curse  
Summary: A semi-songfic, inspired by the song 'I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much' from the upcoming rock opera '_Repo! The Genetic Opera_'  
Warnings: Possible OOC-ness.**

**Disclaimer: Hidan, Jashin, and the song this fic was inspired by do not belong to me whatsoever.**

Ai sat silently, staring down at the blood-soaked man lying in her lap. He coughed slightly, causing a fearful tremble to rack her body.

"Damnit," Hidan cursed, ignoring the metallic tasting liquid falling from his mouth. "Again…"

Ai stared at him. She knew Hidan had suddenly preformed this ritual in an attempt to really kill himself. She didn't know why he wanted to, but she easily sensed the amount of despair in his movements; his voice and his eyes.

Hidan looked at her, obviously upset at his failed attempt. "Why do you look so sad?" He asked quietly, noting Ai's deeply concerned expression. She shook her head.

"No reason," She muttered.

"Bullshit," He accused. Ai frowned.

"I don't like seeing you like this," She said, "Is that alright?" He frowned back at her.

"I'm sorry…" He murmured, and Ai gently placed her hand over his sad eyes.

"Hidan, be quiet…" She muttered tenderly, "There's nothing to apologize for…"

"Ai…" He places his hand on hers, his next words hardly audible, "I want to leave this hell…"

"You know," Ai said, trying to calm him down, "I wanted to cry. When you would perform those rituals, I was afraid you'd die." Hidan moved her hand from his eyes, and looked at her. She wasn't sure what emotions she saw in his eyes.

"I didn't know I love you so much," She said. Hidan's emotion-filled eyes softened. "I didn't know….but I do."

"I used to stay up all night, wishing Jashin-sama…would just let me die…" He said, "I guess I didn't wish hard enough….but…" He sat up suddenly and pulled Ai against him.

"I'm glad…'cause I didn't know I'd love you so much, too…" His low voice echoed in Ai's ears as she leaned into his embrace, "I didn't know then, but now I do." Ai clung to him and closed her eyes.

"I didn't know I'd love you so much…and I never before realized it…but I really do_,_" Ai whispered.

"I never even thought…I'd ever be slightly interested in anyone…but…" He squeezed her tighter, as if he was afraid she'd be taken from him. "You mean the world to me."

Ai let the tears she didn't know she'd been holding back fall. Not tears of sadness, but of joy. She held Hidan as tightly as she could without agitating his wound, and buried her face in his shoulder.

"_Hidan…You mean the world to me too…_" As far as Ai knew, she had only thought that. But unbeknownst to her, she had said it out loud, relieving Hidan's tension. He gently pressed his lips to Ai's cheek, still keeping her firmly in his arms.

He felt a bit awkward showing so much affection (Jashin no doubt wasn't happy), but it was the truth. Ai felt the same way. Both their cheeks held a matching pink tint.


	3. Sleep

**Title: Sleep****  
Character(s): Hidan, Ai  
Rating: K+****  
Setting: No particular time, numerous years after all the events in Reverse This Curse**  
**Summary: Ai has some trouble sleeping due to memories of her parents deaths.  
**

**Disclaimer: Hidan does not belong to me**

_Just a quick, fluffy HidaAi drabble I thought up one evening. It's pretty short, and was more or less only written to calm my fangirl-y-ness. _XD _Enjoy~_

* * *

Ai knew she wouldn't get any sleep that night, and her constant tossing and turning proved her suspicions. Sitting up, she held in head in her hands and sighed, noticing the clock on the table that read 11:26. Only half an hour left, and she'd have another year before she'd have to worry about this again.

November 9th, the day her parents were taken from her.

Well, if you want to get technical, it was the day her father was taken from her. But either way, she knew she'd lose everything as soon as her father's life was turned into ash, even if it was weeks later that her mother was killed.

She ran a hand through her hair, wishing she could fall asleep. She was exhausted. But even if she did get to sleep, she'd only have nightmares. The sheets shifted next to her, and a head of silver hair slowly lifted from the pillow surrounding his head.

"Ai…? What the hell are you still doing up?" Hidan asked groggily.

"I just woke up and felt restless. It's nothing, so go back to sleep, Hidan," She laid back down and faced away from him. Weight shifted beside her again, and she was rolled onto her back.

"You should know that you can't lie to me," Hidan stated, looking at her as he propped himself up on his shoulder. "Not when we've been together _this_ long."

Ai frowned. "I hate how well you know me," She muttered.

"Well get used to it," A smirk graced his face, "Now talk. What's your problem?"

With a heave sigh, she admitted "My parents. I told you the entire story about how they died."

"Yeah, and?"

"It's the anniversary, tonight," She stated. "Of their death."

Silence fell into the air, and the two felt a bit of tension around them. "Oh…" Hidan began, but couldn't come up with anything else.

"I can never sleep on this day. Every year, it's the same. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but…" She trailed off.

"Not as easy as you thought, right?" Hidan asked. Ai turned her head and looked in his eyes without much reason.

"Yeah…" She said quietly. "How do you deal with it?"

"I don't." Was his reply. Ai examined his face a moment, then reached up and brushed his cheek with her fingertips.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered. "I want to help you, but…" Wordlessly, Hidan moved so he was partially on top of her, and lightly pressed his lips to hers.

"Eh, don't worry about it," He muttered as their lips parted. "I've gotten through this long with no help, I don't need it now."

Ai smiled, "Asshole." He smiled back, and kissed her again.

It was hours later that the two of them got back to sleep, and by then November 9th was over and gone until next year. But Ai somehow thought that next year, she wouldn't have a problem falling asleep.


	4. Unwanted

**Title: Unwanted****  
Character(s): Hidan, Ai, Kakuzu  
Rating: M****  
Setting: No particular time, numerous years after all the events in Reverse This Curse**  
**Summary: Kakuzu is back from the dead, and Hidan is much happier than he should be. Ai is left in the dust.  
**

**Disclaimer: Hidan does not belong to me**

_So sorry about the lack of updates, guys ._ _I've totally lost any and all inspiration recently..._

_But I decided to write this for you, a bit of yaoi fanservice for you silly (read: crazy _;D_) fangirls!_

* * *

"So Hidan, how long were you working with Kakuzu before he died?" Ai asked out of the blue. Hidan twitched slightly.

"Where the hell did that come from?" He asked. Ai shrugged.

"It just hit me randomly and I figured I'd ask. So?" Ai noticed Hidan seemed uncomfortable.

"Hell, I dunno. I guess a year, give or take a month or two. Do you really think I bothered keeping track?"

"Well…no…" Ai frowned. He seemed really testy on this subject for some reason. "What's the matter with you, Hidan? You're so pissed off all of the sudden."

"I'm not pissed off," was his retort.

"Yeah you are. You have this really irritated tone that you get when you're pissed," Ai tried to force the answer from him.

"Bullshit, I am _not_ pissed off—"

"You never tell the truth, do you Hidan?"

Ai and Hidan looked in front of them, where a very familiar man stood, his face still covered so only his eyes could be seen.

"K-Kakuzu!" They spoke in surprise.

"Woah! Hey, shouldn't you be dead? What are you still doing ali—" Ai stopped her sentence short as Hidan moved passed her.

"Kakuzu…you asshole," He muttered, clinging to the masked man.

"What's with you, Hidan?" Kakuzu asked, putting a hand on his shoulder but doing little else.

"You were dead, you motherfucker…" Hidan muttered an angry yet relieved reply. "You don't fucking get it…"

Ai stared in confusion at the two hugging men. She didn't get it either. They were never so…_friendly_, to say the least, before. "H-hey, Hidan. What's with the gay? You _do_ realize you're hugging Kakuzu, right?"

"Shut up, Ai," Hidan barked, still holding on firmly to the should-be dead Kakuzu. "You don't get it either."

"Exactly! I don't get it, so would you kindly fill me in?"

"You must be really dense," Kakuzu insulted, monotonously.

"What?!"

"Ai, get out of here," Hidan ordered, shocking her.

"…Huh?" was all she managed.

"What happened to your love affair? Hmn, Hidan?" Kakuzu teased, though it truly didn't sound like it.

"Oi, it may have been an affair, but there was no fucking love involved, got it?" Hidan said, frowning at the masked zombie. Ai's eyebrows knit together in a mix of emotions she wasn't sure what to do with.

"Whatever you say," Kakuzu stated.

"O-oi! Seriously…" Ai paused, wanting to call them 'love-birds' to mess with them, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to do so, "…You two, what the hell is going on?"

"Ai, I said go the fuck away," Hidan said sternly. "Or did you not fucking hear me?" Ai flinched at the cold tone in his voice. Not that it was much different form his usual tone, but it hurt to hear it directed at her.

"Damnit, Hidan, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the fuck is going on here…!" She tried to shout at them, but her voice was little more than a whisper.

Hidan scoffed, "Fine, if you won't leave, we will." He released his hold on Kakuzu and turned to walk away. "C'mon, Kakuzu. Let's go."

"Fine," Kakuzu replied, following behind him. Ai stared in disbelief at the two departing ninja. She saw that Hidan was talking to Kakuzu, but she couldn't hear what they were saying, her ears were ringing far too hard. Her vision swam as Hidan grinned lovingly at the man next to him. Her head pounded, and she tried to say something, but her voice didn't come out.

Hidan stopped walking for a moment, and glanced back at Ai. He frowned and rolled his eyes, then turned to Kakuzu and yanked him down by the collar. As the faces of the two men got closer, Ai couldn't look anymore. She turned and sprinted away, filled with a mix of rage and despair.

She was alone now…She hadn't been alone in so long. She forgot how much it hurt….how empty it felt…

"Damnit Hidan…!"

Ai opened her eyes quickly, and shot up, looking around frantically.

She wasn't in the middle of a forest anymore…she was in the same bed she fell asleep in.

A dream….of fucking course.

"Ai? What's with you?" Hidan asked, sitting up sleepily and looking at her. Ai stared at him for a moment, then began to laugh.

"Nothing…" She said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Just a _really_ weird fucking dream." Hidan furrowed his brows at her.

"Uhuh…what kind of dream?"

She laughed again. "You….You and Kakuzu…." She kept laughing, unable to finish her sentence.

"Shit," Hidan said, sure that what she was going to said wasn't good. "I probably don't want to know…but finish you're damn sentence."

Ai forced herself to stop laughing, and finished, "You and Kakuzu were butt buddies."

"HAAAAH!?" Hidan shouted, utterly disgusted. Ai burst into laughter again. "That's not fucking funny! Oh Jashin, that's fucking gross!"

"How do ya think _I_ feel? I fuckin' saw it!" Ai said between chuckles. Then her laughter died completely as she remembered the rest of the dream. Hidan looked at her again.

"What's with that?" She asked, regarding her sad face. Ai shook her head and pushed the dream from her mind. It was just a dream, after all.

"Nothin, just thinking. Let's go back to sleep, I'm beat," She stretched and went to lay back down when Hidan grabbed her arm and held her up.

"No," He said. "Don't bullshit me, what's the matter with you?" Ai frowned.

"It's nothing!" She insisted, sounding more annoyed than she intended.

"The dream bothered you, didn't it?" Hidan asked, staring hard into Ai's face. "The thought of me and that asshole being…" He grimaced in disgust. "…_together_..." He seethed, "upset you, right?"

Ai looked away from him. In truth, yes, that was the problem. But she didn't want to admit it. Hidan sighed and shook his head.

"Look, I fuckin' hate Kakuzu. I did when he was alive, and I still do now that he's six feet under," He said. "And besides, I don't roll that way. Dick ain't my thing."

Ai chuckled at that. "Yeah, you're right." She said. "Dunno why it bothered me. It was just some dumbass dream anyway…" Hidan could tell she was still bothered. He sighed again and scratched the back of his head.

"Though I guess he wasn't too bad…" He began. Ai twitched noticeably. "I mean, for a guy, he wasn't _too_ fugly. And the way he could shoot his arms 20 feet like that, damn, imagine what else he could do!"

Ai was disgusted, and spun around to scream at him when he grabbed the back of the head and forced her lips to his. She relaxed and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing their bodies together.

When their lips parted, Hidan was first to speak, "I was kidding, by the way." He said. "No way I'd ever think of fucking that douchebag."

Ai clicked her tongue. "I'm still gonna hold that against ya," She teased. Hidan smirked.

"Bitch," He muttered, kissing her again.


	5. Bone Garden I

**Title: Bone Garden I****  
Character(s): Hidan, Ai  
Rating: M****  
Setting: No particular time, numerous years after all the events in Reverse This Curse**  
**Summary: Ai and Hidan mistakenly return to Ai's old village. The repercussions are much worse than they expected.  
**

**Disclaimer: Hidan does not belong to me**

* * *

Ai stopped suddenly as she and Hidan stepped out from a group of snow-covered trees. She could hardly breathe as she looked at the surroundings.

"Hidan…" She choked. "Let's turn back…I don't want to be here…"

"What?" Hidan asked, turning around and staring with slight concern at Ai. "What's wrong with you? It's just another village, and it doesn't even look like anyone lives here. Besides, we're not staying. We're just passing through."

"No…" She gasped, shaking her head. "I can't."

"Why not? What's wrong with it?"

"Hidan, this is _my_ village…"

He gave her a long, uncertain look, then gazed around the area. "Are you sure?" He asked after a moment.

"Yes. No…" Ai swallowed. "There's so much snow covering everything, I can't tell by looking, but…this heavy feeling on my shoulders could only be from my village…"

Hidan sighed. "Come on, you're probably just freaked about all the snow, since it obviously holds bad memories for you. It holds bad memories for me too. Just about _everything _does. So get over it and lets move."

"What? No! Hidan, no fucking way am I going any further," Ai stated.

"Ai…" Hidan replied sternly. "Look, I don't want you becoming a pussy every time you see snow, okay? So lets fucking move, and you'll get over it."

"Hidan…!"

"This probably isn't even your village. You're just overreacting. So let's go," Hidan demanded, turning and walking further through the village.

"Damnit," Ai muttered, following him hesitantly. He was right, she thought. This wasn't her village. She was just freaking out over the snow. Yeah, that's all…

Ai moved so she stood behind Hidan, and she stared at the snow covered ground as they walked down the streets. She felt the weight on her shoulders increase gradually until she found it nearly impossible to breathe. With a gasp, she came to an abrupt stop, causing Hidan to stop too.

"Ai?" He asked, sounding slightly irritated. She looked at him, then felt her eyes being pulled to the left, and she slowly looked up to the sky. There was a house next to them, and on the roof was a cross. The absolute terror and rage and complete, utter despair that hit Ai caused her breath to get clogged in her throat.

On the cross was a skeleton, stained with blood. A small necklace with a circle holding an A was hanging from the skeletons neck, and clanking gently against it's chest plate.

An amazingly irritating noise registered in Ai's mind. It was loud and high, and horrible to listen to. She lifted her hands, and briefly wondered why they were so difficult to control, and why they were shaking so terribly. She covered her ears, but the noise only got louder. Her brain pounded, and it felt like her ears were bleeding. It was awful. She couldn't take it. She was losing her mind…

Her vision went black, and the noise ceased. She felt a hand gently covering her eyes, and also felt the painful burning of her throat as she gasped. Had she been making that noise? Was that awful sound coming from her own lungs in the form of a horrified scream?

"It's okay, Ai," She heard Hidan mutter. Her entire body convulsed in trembles, and she collapsed to her knees. Hidan barely caught her, holding her tightly.

"Oh god…" Ai sobbed. "Hidan…Oh Hidan…Oh my god…" She clung to the same phrases, sobbing harder than she ever had.

All the pain, and all the despair that she had forced out of her heart came back in an instant. Not feeling these things in so long made their effect all the worse.

"It's alright, calm down," Hidan whispered to her. "I'm going to move my hand from your eyes. Either keep them closed or just look at my face, okay? _Don't_ look at it."

Ai barely nodded, but as he removed his hand and she regained her vision, the first thing she saw was the horrible skeleton of her deceased mother. She screamed in utter terror again, and immediately fell unconscious.

Hidan sighed and gingerly picked her up. "Idiot," He muttered, holding her tightly in his arms. Though, he didn't have much room to talk. He shouldn't have insisted to go into this village. To think he thought she was just being paranoid. He was such a fucking imbecile.

Hidan moved as quickly as he could to the other end of the village, as far from the corpse as possible. He made sure to look for any people in the houses, but found not a single one. As he walked, snow began to fall from the sky. It started as just a few flakes here and there, but before he knew it, the snow fell in heaps and whipped around him, carried by harsh winds that seemed to appear out of nowhere. He resorted to kicking in the door to an empty home and moving inside, just to get the fuck out of the blizzard.

There were cobwebs all over the abandoned house, so he had to clear the couch a bit before he set Ai down. She was still out cold, but he saw that she had started to cry. Or she may have been crying before she passed out, he wasn't quite sure.

Whatever the case, he hated to see it, so he wiped the tears away with his sleeve. He heard her mutter something, and her eyes opened a small bit.

"Hidan…" The whisper came out of her throat in the form of a croak.

"Yeah, I'm here," He replied patting her shoulder. "Might as well go back to sleep, we're not moving any time soon." Ai reached up slowly and grabbed his hand. He blinked, rather confused, but didn't pull away.

"Oh Hidan…" She began to cry again.

"Hey, hey, come on, stop that," He said a bit frantically. "Quit crying, it's okay now." She sobbed. "Hey! Come on, crying is bad for you! And it makes me _really_ fucking uncomfortable!" Ai's sobs stopped, and she laughed a little. Hidan was very relieved to hear that.

"C'mon, go back to sleep, dumbass," He chuckled himself, but paused as Ai squeezed his hand.

"If I do…I'll just have nightmares…" She whispered. Hidan frowned at how fragile and vulnerable Ai had become. She was obviously really shaken up. Not that that was too surprising.

"Okay," Hidan said, feeling awkward and far too compassionate. "I'll wake you up if you start to have a nightmare. So don't worry. Just go back to sleep."

Ai started at him for a while, then smiled a bit, squeezing his hand again. "Thank you…"

"For what?" He asked.

"For staying with me…" Ai slowly let her eyes flutter closed.

"Oh come on, don't get all fucking sentimental," Hidan scoffed, hiding his slight blush the best he could. "I'm just doing this cause…" He trailed off as he heard Ai snore slightly. He laughed and leaned against the side of the couch, not bothering to pull his hand from hers. "You are so not good for me, Ai," He said, not expecting her to reply, which she didn't. But he paused for a moment anyway.

"I wasn't this…fucking _nice_ before I met you," He murmured, rather displeased with this realization. "Maybe I should…" He trailed off, thinking of standing up, releasing her hand and walking out the door, leaving Ai alone and being on his own for the first time since he joined the Akatsuki.

His face contorted into a grimace. When he was alone, he always found a short-time companion to stay with him for a night, or a few days. But the women he kept with him for as long as he could, and the ones he allowed to fit themselves into his small heart…all of these women died. And when they did, they took their pieces of Hidan's heart with them.

Then he found Ai. She wouldn't die. She was physically unable to. He wouldn't lose her like he lost any of the other girls.

And yet, here he was…considering throwing that away.

He paused in his thoughts as Ai's face scrunched in a painful expression. He moved quickly, ready to wake her up from the nightmare she seemed to be having, when he realized he was squeezing her hand so tightly her fingers were turning purple. He quickly loosened his grip, and went to pull his hand away, but stopped as her fingers still clung to him. He sighed, and sat himself back down, leaning his head against the cushion of the couch and slowly allowing himself to fall asleep.


	6. Bone Garden II

**Title: Bone Garden II****  
Character(s): Hidan, Ai, Keiko, Nori, Villagers  
Rating: M****  
Setting: Numerous years after all the events in Reverse This Curse**  
**Summary: Hidan finds himself in an eerily familiar setting, and realizes that he's seeing something he isn't meant to see.  
**

**Disclaimer: Hidan does not belong to me**

* * *

Hidan looked around. He wasn't sure where he was, but he knew that it gave him an eerily familiar feel. He couldn't figure out why, though.

As he examined his surroundings, he noticed that he was in a small, snow-covered village. There were children here and there, running around and laughing, throwing handfuls of snow at each other. Their parents stood idly by, laughing and wishing they were children again. It kind of made Hidan sick.

He walked away from the happy children and moved through the streets. There weren't many people, showing how small the village really was. But as he kept walking, he found the amount of people subtly dwindled. He wondered why for a moment, before he stopped abruptly as a child ran passed him.

He looked over at the kid. It was a girl, he saw. She came up to about his waist, and had short-ish black hair, with wide gold eyes happily darting around. In her hands she clutched a ninjas headband, with a snowflake carved in it. Hidan recognized this girl somehow, but he couldn't exactly put it.

"Mommy, daddy! Come on!" She called back to the adults trailing behind her. Her father, apparently, who stood out from the white landscape while wearing all black with long black hair, and her mother, who blended in with the white landscape, all in white with silver hair.

What a strange family.

The two parents laughed and caught up with their child, walking passed Hidan as if he wasn't there. They moved happily through the streets, smiling and saying hellos to others nearby. They didn't notice it, but Hidan couldn't _not_ notice it. Every person they passed took a small step back, and though they smiled and greeted them happily, once the family was passed, the smiles immediately vanished.

Hidan felt a strong sense of hostility radiating from the other village people. And it all seemed to be directed at the family of three.

Frowning, he took a step and followed them, rather interested for some reason unknown to him.

The family seemed normal and happy, nothing unusual. They spent the day shopping, talking to others who hid their hatred very well, and even playing in the snow a bit.

It wasn't until they got home that Hidan realized what was off about them.

Inside their house was a small shrine, composed mostly of black and red candles forming a small semi-circle in front of a pedestal. There wasn't any sort of statue on the pedestal, though, only a dark red A held within a circle on the front of it.

…Wasn't that the symbol for 'anarchy'?

The area seemed rather satanic, though Hidan figured by the lack of dead chickens or goats that it was actually anything related to Satanism.

Suddenly, Hidan realized that he didn't remember actually walking into the house. He frowned deeper, wondering what the hell was going on. He slowly moved out of the ritual room, and tried to leave while the family wasn't paying attention.

The mother, he vaguely remembered hearing her be called 'Keiko', slowly walked through the room. Hidan froze and got ready to fight if needed, but she kept moving, not even noticing him. She spoke to the father, Nori, about needing more sweet miso, and telling him to go out and get some for that nights dinner. Nori complied, bidding his family goodbye as he walked out the door.

Hidan shook his head, feeling that time was moving unusually fast. He was hardly able to register all of the events, feeling as if they were all being crammed in his mind at once.

Proving this thought of his, seemingly seconds later the young girl scampered to the window next to the door and called to her mother that Nori was returning. Keiko slowly walked back into the room, moving as if she might break the floor if she stepped on it too roughly. The two looked out the window, and though Hidan was at the other side of the room and could not see outside, he knew what happened to make Keiko shout.

Nori was grabbed, and hit over the head with some blunt object Hidan couldn't discern. Seemingly within seconds, he was tied and bound to a large wooden stake. Numerous other pieces of lumber were tossed at his feet, built up high so they reached his knees, then set ablaze.

Hidan could just barely register the screams of Keiko as she covered her daughters eyes and turned her away from the terrible scene. Neither of them moved towards the door, knowing that if they did, they'd end up on stakes as well.

Nori screamed as the flames began to tear at his clothing and turn his skin a bright, bubbly pink. He shouted to the people standing around him, but Hidan couldn't hear much more than the words 'hell' and 'heathens' over the roaring fire.

Within seconds, Nori was dead.

Hidan realized that his heart was pounding rapidly in his chest, slamming against his ribcage. All of this seemed so familiar, and it killed him. What was it? Why did this feel like an unwanted memory??

"Ai! Ai, go to your room! Stay there, don't come out no matter what, alright??" Keiko cried.

It hit Hidan, then. Who that girl was. It was a young Ai. And this was her memory of what happened to her parents.

But what he didn't understand was why _he_ was seeing it. What did it have to do with him? He hoped that he hadn't unintentionally been a part of it, and just didn't remember doing so.

As Young-Ai slowly walked passed him, he couldn't help but stare at her. She had looked so happy just seconds previous, but now all the shine in her eyes was gone without a trace.

The images before him flickered and changed, so now Ai was sitting alone on her couch, knees drawn up close to her chest. Her eyes were blank as they stared ahead at nothing in particular.

Soon, Keiko flowed into the room, and paused in front of her daughter. "Ai, I'm…I'm going to go out. We're running low on food…I'll come back as soon as possible, okay? I love you," She gently kissed Ai's forehead and moved towards the door.

"H-Hey! Don't!" Hidan shouted at her, despite knowing it was simply a memory he was seeing. "Don't leave the house! You'll die, damnit!" Keiko didn't even blink, and slowly reached for the doorknob and pulled it open. Hidan rushed forward and threw out his hand to grab her arm.

Hidan felt himself slow down, and watched as time around him sped up to the point where Keiko was already outside, and the door was already closed.

Hidan's fist hit the door, but it didn't make a sound. He turned around to look at Ai, who still sat on the couch. She hadn't moved an inch.

Her eyes flickered over to him, then. He frowned, meeting her gaze. But as soon as he did, the scene flickered again, though it didn't change. The only thing that was different now was the loud pounding coming from the roof. Hidan looked up in confusion, then looked back at Ai, who was curled further into herself, covering her ears and sobbing.

As a few screams echoed through the house, Hidan remembered the cross and skeleton he had seen. He knew that it was Ai's mother that was being crucified at that moment, and could actually see the villagers driving the nails through her palms and neck, though he didn't know why.

He swore under his breath. This was too much, even for him. And to have it happen to such a young girl…it was terrible. His anger raged and flared inside him, and he wanted to scream and bitch and complain and kill the bastards who did this.

But he knew he couldn't.

He held his head in his hands and groaned in rage and irritation. It took him a moment to realize that the pounding and screams had stopped, and were replaced by quiet little footsteps crossing in front of him. He lowered his hands and watched as Ai slowly walked by him and pulled open the door.

"Ah! Ai! What are you…hey, don't!" He shouted, but Ai didn't hear him. She took one step out of the door, then stopped as something dripped on her head. She reached her hand up and felt the spot where something had fell. She looked at her fingers…and saw they were stained dark red.

Her hands began to shake, and she slowly took a few more steps forward, then turned around and looked up to where the red liquid had fallen from.

She screamed as her eyes fell upon her mother, crucified on the roof, eyes still darting here and there and her mouth wide as if she was silently screaming.

She turned and ran as fast as she could, bolting out of the village and into the forest surrounding it. And though Hidan didn't run after her, the scenery around him moved with her, and he seemed to float along behind her.

She ran and ran for what seemed like forever, until her legs gave out and she tumbled into the snow under her feet. She coughed and sobbed, trembling fiercely but hardly able to move.

Hidan wanted to do something. He wanted to help her somehow. It sort of pissed him off that he was so compassionate towards her, but he couldn't help it. He did care about Ai. It was a fact, no matter how much he may not enjoy it.

Everything around him changed again. Now he was watching Ai slowly walk back into her village. She was taller, and her hair was much longer, but messy and tangled. She seemed exhausted, as if she had lived her entire life and was mere minutes from death, though she was physically probably only 15.

As she stepped into the village borders, the trees stopped, and she was once again among the villagers that once tried to kill her, and successfully killed her family.

An aged man looked at her as she entered, and widened his eyes in surprise. "You are…" He trailed off. Ai stared at him in unfamiliarity.

"That's the Fukanou child…" Another man nearby said.

"She's still alive?" A woman gasped.

They all quickly neared her. She backed away in confusion, until she hit a tree, and became surrounded by the hostile villagers.

"We'll kill you this time," A elderly man said, who seemed to be the head of the village, and gazed at her with cold, unmerciful eyes.

One man close to her lunged forward and grabbed her hair, while another man grabbed her arm. She screamed and flailed, struggling and trying to get away, but to no avail. The villagers around her cheered and shouted in delight, helping to grab her and try to drag her off somewhere.

"Stop….Stop! Stop it! Let me go!!" She screamed as loud as she could, and threw her free arm out, hitting some mans forehead. He suddenly stopped moving, and ice quickly began to cover his body, from his head down. The other villagers stumbled back in shock and fear. Ai withdrew a kunai from her belt, and pointed it at the men and women in front of her. She breathed quickly, and, not giving herself time to hesitate, darted forward and slashed the throats of the people close enough. The others screamed and tired to escape, running every which way to put space between them and Ai.

She turned and ran after a few men running in the same general direction. She pushed off the ground as hard as she could and drove the kunai through their backs and chests, slicing it to the side and ripping a gaping wound in their bodies.

It didn't take too long for Ai to cut down all the villagers that were there. The pure white snow was dyed a light red, contrasting beautifully, yet horribly.

Ai stood over the bodies, drenched in blood, and dropped her kunai. She took a few deep breaths and her face twisted in an expression of despair, but she didn't cry.

Hidan stared in shock at the scene and flinched as everything flickered and sputtered, colors changing and flashing and growing dimmer as if he was watching a movie that's filmstrip was somehow damaged.

And suddenly, he found himself back in his original position. He jumped as he fully woke up, and looked around, remembering that all of what he just saw was just a dream. He wasn't really there. Of course.

"Geez! Hidan, what's with you?" Ai asked him as she lifted her head, woken up by his sudden movement. Hidan turned around and stared at her for a moment, unable to clearly think of a reply. Luckily for him, Ai diverted her attention to their interlocked hands. "…Wh-Why are we holding hands!? Ugh, let me go!"

She jumped away and freed her hand, blushing brightly. Hidan had to laugh at that, and it calmed him down quite a bit.

"Don't you remember? You insisted on holding my hand when you fell asleep, cause you were _so scared_!" He said, teasing her with a smirk.

"Wh...what??" She blushed brighter, "You must be high! There's no way I would…would…" She gave up and instead just flailed in agitation and embarrassment.

Hidan laughed at her, forcing the strange dream/memory from his mind. But he must have still looked bothered, because Ai commented on it.

"Oi, you look really pale," She said, quirking an eyebrow at him when she got over her embarrassment. "Did you have a bad dream or somethin'?" Hidan twitched.

"…Nah, just tired," He replied, glancing away.

"You just woke up."

"So?" Hidan stood, and shook himself a bit to wake himself up. "Look, really, I'm fine, okay? Let's drop it."

Ai gave him a long look, but shrugged and said "Fine, whatever you want."

Hidan looked away from her and out the window, seeing that the blizzard that had hit them last night had stopped. He took a second to think about the dream…he decided that it would be best to keep it from Ai. She didn't need to re-live it…twice in 24 hours, at least.

"…" He was silent for a moment, but then managed to find his voice. "It looks like the blizzard stopped. We should get moving."

"Yeah," Ai replied, standing up as well and patting away the dust that came off the couch and got stuck on her. "Hey…Hidan…"

"Huh?"

"Look…I'm, uh…sorry, about yesterday. It's uh…kinda embarrassing, that I freaked out like that," Her face flushed a bit, and she glanced away a couple times. Hidan watched her fidget, then chuckled.

"Don't worry about it," He said. "It wasn't exactly a pretty sight, after all." Ai still blushed in embarrassment as they exited the house and stepped into the snow covered outside world. They had walked in silence for a while until Ai stopped.

"Ai?" Hidan asked, stopping as well. She looked at him, then to the side, down a road to their left.

"Uh…Hidan…" She muttered, "Can we…go that way?"

"…Ai, that'll lead back to your old house."

"I know…"

"Why? You couldn't take the sight last time."

"I know…" She bit her lip, "But I'm prepared this time. I won't freak out, I promise." The two of them stared at each other for a moment or two.

Hidan sighed after a second. "Okay…If you want to that badly. But don't say I didn't warn you." Ai nodded, and they turned and walked down the road towards the place Ai used to call home, but was now just a cracked shell filled with bittersweet memories.

It took them a while, but they managed to make it back to the run down house. Ai stared at the ground for a little while, then took a deep breath and looked up at the skeleton of her mother hanging from the roof. She frowned, and, in her mind, whispered "_Goodbye…_"

"Why would they leave that there…as some screwed up warning to follow their rules?" Hidan muttered angrily. "Sick fucks…"

Ai made a quiet "mn" noise, then turned around and looked away from the body. "Okay…" She whispered. "Let's go…"

Hidan nodded silently, and they began to walk away, when Ai stopped yet again. He looked at her, annoyance only showing slightly on his face, when he noticed she was staring at something a ways in front of them. She walked over to it somewhat quickly, then fell to her knees. Hidan followed her and looked over her shoulder.

In front of Ai was a small, white flower poking through the snow. It had a tissue paper thin layer of frost on its petals and leaves, but it still stood strong in the freezing cold.

Ai stared in awe at it, and gently touched a finger to the petals. She jerked her hand back as the heat from her finger melted the frost, and a small drop of water fell from a petal.

She sat and stared at the small flower for a good long while, until Hidan gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Ai…" He said quietly.

She jumped as if she had been scalded by his touch, but quickly calmed back down and stood. "Sorry," She whispered. "This…This is where my dad was burned…I just…"

"I understand," Hidan stated. Ai looked at him with eyes filled with pain, and she nodded silently. Hidan placed a hand on her back and led her out of and away from the village that held her darkest memories.

But maybe now that she'd said goodbye, she could get over it.


End file.
